I never knew you could unload a shotgun from the bottom. I would always use the eject port. I doubt chamber a round when doing so. I would rest the but on my hip eject port down and slide the action back with my left hand and catch the she'll with my right..

Relax Rome. A light scrape on the shell against the elevator is not a huge deal. It should not cause the sheel or the gun to rupture. However, the shell hanging up on the elevator while unloading is not normal or right.

The first thing you need to do is unload the shotgun through the ejection port. after it is unloaded, consult the section of your owner's manual that descibes the DCOR (disassembly, cleaning, oiling, and reassembly) process. Follow these instuctions and take your time doing so. What may be causing your elevator hang up issues could be assembly grease or a build up of oil and other crud. Buy a good cleaning kit, good solvent, (I use Gunzilla or Break Free CLP) and a can of Remoil. Use a toothbrush with the solvent to clean the internal parts and the inside of the reciever, wipe clean with a cloth, then lightly oil all of the internal parts and the inside of the reciever.

Reassemble and try to load and unload through the bottom port. If the problem persists take the shotgun to your LGS and have a gunsmith look it over. A quick look at the shops in my area ranges from free to $25 bucks, and on a slow day should take no longer than a few minutes. Good luck and let me knoe how it turns out. Kev.

__________________
If I have to explain why I ride, you wouldn't understand. Explaining sex to an alien would be easier than explaining the feeling, one that boils all that is going on in your life down to what really matters each time you are in The Wind. All I can say is, Life is not Life without it.

Most any pump gun, and most semi automatics, will have the shell scraping something as you load it. The only think that will set a shell off is something hitting the primer that is pointed and has sufficient force. That's why it is perfectly safe to dump a box of shells in a shell bag.
You need to be a little more open. You say you are new and you watch an internet video, and get sensitive when people who have been shooting for over 50 years try to give you some advice. There is usually more than one safe way to do almost anything. Shotguns and shotgun shells do have some inherent level of danger, but it is not what you seem to be thinking of. The "Top Ten" gun safety rules start off with - always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. That one thing can save you a ton of grief.
Sooner or later, you are likely to have a gun go off when you don't intend for it to. I was checking an old cheap single action 22 handgun while driving once on a country road decades ago, finger not on the trigger and turning the cylinder with my thumb. The hammer spur broke off and dropped the hammer from half cock and blew a neat hole in the dash. Not good, but no injuries. I had a semi auto 12 gauge go off twice unintentionally in the field, once in the crook of my arm. I immediately stopped and broke it down and there was a small piece of shotshell brass base lodged right in the mating notch of the sear with the hammer - what are the odds of that? But, again, although scary, no real harm done because the gun was pointed at the sky.
Shotguns are mechanical devices, manufactured to mechanical tolerances. Generally the less expensive guns have looser tolerances and rougher finishes. The guy in the videos gun may have had a different tolerance stack up, allowing him to unload that way easier than yours, or he may have even polished something, or the gun may have had 10,000 rounds thru it already - they do smooth up. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with yours, you just may have to do more wiggling to do the same maneuver he does.
Your gun is a known reliable model, based on it's ability to go bang when you pull the trigger and reload when you work the pump. If you are expecting a whole lot more than that, you are going to have to spend a whole lot more money. That is not a criticism, just a fact. To do what you intend, you do not need to spend a lot more money, you just need to change your perspective a bit. There are millions of happy owners of inexpensive 870s and 500s out there, but most of them weren't expecting perfection in all aspects. Good luck.

Most any pump gun, and most semi automatics, will have the shell scraping something as you load it. The only think that will set a shell off is something hitting the primer that is pointed and has sufficient force. That's why it is perfectly safe to dump a box of shells in a shell bag.
You need to be a little more open. You say you are new and you watch an internet video, and get sensitive when people who have been shooting for over 50 years try to give you some advice. There is usually more than one safe way to do almost anything. Shotguns and shotgun shells do have some inherent level of danger, but it is not what you seem to be thinking of. The "Top Ten" gun safety rules start off with - always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. That one thing can save you a ton of grief.
Sooner or later, you are likely to have a gun go off when you don't intend for it to. I was checking an old cheap single action 22 handgun while driving once on a country road decades ago, finger not on the trigger and turning the cylinder with my thumb. The hammer spur broke off and dropped the hammer from half cock and blew a neat hole in the dash. Not good, but no injuries. I had a semi auto 12 gauge go off twice unintentionally in the field, once in the crook of my arm. I immediately stopped and broke it down and there was a small piece of shotshell brass base lodged right in the mating notch of the sear with the hammer - what are the odds of that? But, again, although scary, no real harm done because the gun was pointed at the sky.
Shotguns are mechanical devices, manufactured to mechanical tolerances. Generally the less expensive guns have looser tolerances and rougher finishes. The guy in the videos gun may have had a different tolerance stack up, allowing him to unload that way easier than yours, or he may have even polished something, or the gun may have had 10,000 rounds thru it already - they do smooth up. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with yours, you just may have to do more wiggling to do the same maneuver he does.
Your gun is a known reliable model, based on it's ability to go bang when you pull the trigger and reload when you work the pump. If you are expecting a whole lot more than that, you are going to have to spend a whole lot more money. That is not a criticism, just a fact. To do what you intend, you do not need to spend a lot more money, you just need to change your perspective a bit. There are millions of happy owners of inexpensive 870s and 500s out there, but most of them weren't expecting perfection in all aspects. Good luck.

I appreciate your well written reply.

I wasn't getting sensitive, I was merely stating that "unload it a different way" is not a helpful response to the question "should this be happening and is it dangerous?" That's all.

I am also aware that it was a $400 gun and not $800+. I may be new to shooting but I'm not new to purchasing things with my money. I do a little work part time building gaming PC's for others. If A client of mine bought a $400 Video Card for their system and it wasn't allowing them to play their games in full-screen mode properly and he want's to know if that is "normal or potentially will damage his system" and my response to him was "just play in windowed mode", that would be a very unhelpful response.

Anyways. I brought the gun to the shop that completed my transfer for me and he said it's not normal. It also takes more force than should be necessary to close the action, seemingly because the elevator is catching on something and creating additional friction. He said he'd be happy to send it back to mossberg for me and have them try to repair the elevator arm, but it will probably be 4-6 weeks. He recommends putting 50-100 rounds through it first and seeing if it sorts itself out and if not to bring it back.

I'm heading out to a buddy's farm this saturday with a 100 round box of federal target loads. We'll see what happens.

Hope it works out for ya Rome. You've got a good dealer there. Make sure to thank him by refering him to othher shooters in your area.

__________________
If I have to explain why I ride, you wouldn't understand. Explaining sex to an alien would be easier than explaining the feeling, one that boils all that is going on in your life down to what really matters each time you are in The Wind. All I can say is, Life is not Life without it.

I bet it is a new modification for some odd reason. Maybe for ease of loading? Maybe so all the shells don't pop out at the same time like it can on a Winchester Model 12? My brothers hate that gun for that very reason. I like it for that reason.

My Sears model 200, (a derivative of the Winchester Model 12,) acts like yours except my loading gate stops the shell. I just pull the shell outward/forward and it clears the gate.

Big daddy is right.
that bend in the lifter is there SPECIFICALLY to catch the shell when you depress the release arm -- Mossberg's are SO easy to unload! The shell should travel like a quarter inch and then you just pull it up a little and it comes right out -- almost no upward pressure necessary. If yours is scraping shells as the go in and you have to force them up over the notch...

IT IS BECAUSE THE LIFTER IS NOT FULLY IN PLACE (YOU SHOWED NO PICTURES OF THE ACTION CLOSED!) AND I SUSPECT THE ACTION ISN'T QUITE 100% CLOSED!!! The reason for this is probably, PROBABLY, that the bolt isn't quite fully locking into the barrel extension.

All this is done with NO AMMO IN THE GUN OR ROOM!!!

Remove the barrel. You'll see the square cutout in the extension that sits over the bolt. Examine it. Cleanly cut? Squared? Burrs? Look at the bolt part that comes up off of the top and enters the recess in the extension to lock the action closed on firing. See any issues? Clean the action and receiver and barrel extension. Oil the bolt lock/extension area well. Make sure your barrel is in its proper position when you tighten it up (finger tight only). Cycle the action smartly a couple of dozen times. Bolt lockup better? Lifter fully seated now!? Actions on these are smooth enough under normal circumstances.

I don't know how much you have to depress the action lock release to cycle the unloaded, unfired, gun but hopefully you DO have to unlock it to open. If you are not sure this gun is locking closed properly do not fire it at all!!!

Rome, everyone's given you some great answers. The only thing I didn't see addressed was your concern of damaging the shells you are loading. A previous comment mentioned that a forceful primer strike is necessary for detonation. Shotshells truly can withstand a great amount of abuse before compromising safety. I've shot shells that were bent almost to a 45 degree angle. I don't recommend this lax approach to safety, but 9 times out of 10, if your gun will chamber the shell, it'll fire properly. To address the brass scraping on the bottom of the elevator; that's just part of shooting, and it's normal, I know you want your prized purchase to shine like new, but the mechanics of your firearm require an abrasive contact in that area. The elevators on most of my shotguns have line worn away in the finish. I gave up cleaning that brass line a long time ago, and it doesn't affect safety or functionality in the least.

I'll reiterate that I understand your desire to have a gun that functions properly according to the owner's manual. But when you get your gun back, and are finally able to unload shells in the desired fashion, I think you'll discover something neat; You are going to unload FAR more shells by firing than you will out of the magazine tube! Get out to the range and see what I mean. Congrats on the purchase, that's a fine firearm and she'll serve you well. Good luck